Illegal waste stockpile found at Dublin farm

An illegal stockpile of more than 1,000 tonnes of municipal waste has been discovered on a Dublin farm by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The waste being stored on the farm at Hollystown in Dublin 15 is owned by bin collection firm Greyhound.

This is the third time since Greyhound took over the waste collection business of Dublin City Council last January that the company has been found storing waste on farms in the greater Dublin area which are not authorised for the storage of waste.

Last May the company was caught using a farm near Nurney in Co Kildare to stockpile some 4,000 tonnes of accumulated waste.

The following month almost 2,000 tonnes of waste were discovered illegally stored on a second Co Kildare farm in Crinstown, close to Maynooth.

Following an inspection, Kildare County Council confirmed that the waste had been deposited on the farm by Greyhound.

A spokeswoman for the agency said enforcement proceedings were under way into these two cases but that appropriate prosecution measures were still being considered.

The waste at Hollystown, discovered last week, is described by the agency as “shredded municipal-type waste”, which can be a mixture of household and commercial waste.

In excess of 1,000 bales of waste, each weighing almost one tonne, were being stored at the farm, which was not authorised to store waste.

Liaising

The agency is liaising with Fingal County Council, in whose jurisdiction the Hollystown farm lies, with regard to the matter, the spokeswoman said.

The council said its inspectors had visited the site and an investigation was under way.

However, a spokeswoman said that, because of the likelihood of enforcement action being taken in the future, it could not comment on the matter any further.

Penalties for the illegal storage of waste can range from a fine of up to €3,000 or a term of imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.

Continuing offences may be liable to a fine of up to € 1,000 per day up to a maximum of €130,000, subject to a decision of court, a spokeswoman for the council said.

A spokesman for Greyhound said the company had no comment to make on the matter.

Greyhound has previously been prosecuted by the agency in relation to breaches of its licence for waste storage.

Breached

In January 2011, the District Court found that the company had breached its licence on a number of grounds including storing waste outdoors without the agreement of the agency, and storing waste outside designated areas.

Dublin City Council was the State’s largest waste collector, serving approximately 140,000 households until it sold the business to Greyhound.

The Hollystown landowner, who is not being named by the council or the agency because the investigation is ongoing, has been told the waste must be removed from his land.

It is illegal to store waste unless there is a waste permit or licence pertaining to the site in question.

There is an exception to this rule if the waste is your own, as in the case of householders or businesses storing their waste in advance of a collection date.